What we know about the new variant of COVID-19 | Coronavirus: Ontario

Experts say the new variant spreads easier and faster. It would be 50% to 74% more contagious than the strains so far in circulation. However, these do not believe that it is more deadly, or even that it causes more violent symptoms than the previous variants.

Additionally, there is no evidence that the COVID-19 vaccines currently being distributed – including those approved for use in Canada – are ineffective against the new version of the virus.

How is this variant different?

Other different strains of the virus have been discovered since the start of the pandemic, but this one is believed to be the most contagious. Its genetic code has 23 mutations, a relatively large number of changes, some of which could affect its ability to spread.

Although preliminary data suggests that these new variants could be even more contagious, no evidence to date indicates that these variants cause more serious disease, or affect the antibody response or vaccine efficacy.the Public Health Agency of Canada said in a written statement on Saturday evening. More research will be needed to confirm these results, we specify in the press release.

Where was the new variant found?

The cases are a couple of [la région de] Durham who does not have a history of high-risk travel, exposures or contacts, can we read in the official press release issued by the Ontario Ministry of Health.

This reinforces the need for the people of Ontario to stay at home as much as possible and to continue to adhere to public health guidelines, including the province-wide containment measures that took effect today. .

Ontario entered province-wide containment on Saturday.

Still according to the press release, these two people have been informed and are in isolation, in accordance with public health protocols. Additionally, both people have been made aware of the diagnosis and are now in self-isolation according to public health protocols.

We add thatwith the arrival of international flights, the variant was expected to be identified in Ontario.

How should Canadians approach the news?

Dr Zain Chagla, an infectious disease physician and associate professor of medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, told the CBC News Network on Saturday that people should take the same precautions with this variant as they do with the virus. original.

It is important that everyone respects the rules of public health, now a hundred times better than before, given that [celui-ci est] more transmissible.

These measures include physical distancing, wearing a mask, good hand hygiene, isolation at home in case of symptoms and undergoing a diagnostic test for COVID-19 when appropriate.

Although the first Canadians with this variant have no known travel history, Dr Chagla said it was likely introduced to Canada from another country. The mutations of the British variant correspond to the Canadian cases, according to him.

Last week, Canada extended the suspension of flights from Britain until January 6. In addition, screening and surveillance measures for travelers arriving from South Africa have been stepped up due to the increase in cases of this variant in the country.

Quarantine and border controls are not perfect. […] We can still see transmission from international travel, said Dr Chagla.

Will COVID-19 vaccines still be effective?

Several vaccine manufacturers say their product will be effective against the new, more contagious variant of the virus, including those who have already started distributing vaccines in Canada.

Ugur Sahin, chief executive of German company BioNTech, which has partnered with Pfizer to create a vaccine, said on Tuesday that he expected his messenger RNA vaccine to still work well.

Scientifically, it is very likely that the immune response of this vaccine can also treat this variant of the virus.

Dr Sahin added that it will take about two more weeks of study and additional data collection to get a definitive answer.

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Moderna management said on Wednesday they expected the immunity induced by its COVID-19 vaccine to be protective against the variant reported in the UK. The U.S. company said it plans to do tests to confirm the effectiveness of its messenger RNA vaccine against any new strain.

We have previously tested sera from animals and humans vaccinated with Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine against a number of previous variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that have emerged since the first outbreak of the pandemic. and [ces tests] have shown that our vaccine remains just as effective, the company said in a statement.

While the variant presents an unexpected challenge for vaccine developers, an advantage of mRNA is that scientists can quickly rearrange the genetic material of the product to match that of the mutated protein, whereas modification of traditional vaccines would require additional steps.

In principle, the beauty of mRNA technology is that we can immediately start to design a vaccine that completely mimics this new mutation., said Dr Sahin.

We might be able to provide a new vaccine, technically, in six weeks.

Of course, this is not just a technical question. We need to deal with how regulators would conceive of such a change, he added.

Canada began rolling out Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine earlier this month and began distributing Moderna’s vaccine last Thursday.

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